The Organization of Interests: Incentives and the Internal Dynamics of Political Interest Groups

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University of Chicago Press, Sep 15, 1988 - Business & Economics - 282 pages
"Criticisms of Mancur Olson's theory of group membership and organizational behavior and discussions of the limits of his formulations are not new, but Terry Moe has set them forth in thoroughgoing fashion, has elaborated and extended them, and has made positive new contributions. The result is a book that is valuable and constructive, one that may well revive interest in the systematic study of political groups."—David B. Truman, American Political Science Review

"The Organization of Interests is a valuable addition to the literature. It reminds us that the interior life of groups has political significance and gives us a conceptual framework for exploring that life. It balances nicely between the pluralists—who tend to interpret interest group behaviour entirely in political terms—and Olson—who has no satisfactory explanation for behaviour that is not attributable to economic self-interest. In the concept of the entrepreneur Moe gives us a useful analytical device which deserves operationalization. The book is well worth study."—A. Paul Pross, Canadian Journal of Political Science
 

Contents

Introduction
1
Elements of the Analysis
13
The Decision to Join
22
Organizational Formation and Maintenance
36
Internal Politics
73
Departures from the Economic Ideal
113
The Traditional Background
147
Studies of Economic Interest Groups
168
Some New Data
201
Conclusion
219
Selective Incentives and Dues
233
Representational Structures and Internal Politics
245
Economic Size and Political Membership
254
Notes
259
Index
277
Copyright

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About the author (1988)

Terry M. Moe is the William Bennett Munro Professor of Political Science at Stanford University and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution.

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